bmoviesfandomcom-20200215-history
Critters
Critters is a 1986 cult comedy horror science fiction film starring Dee Wallace Stone, M. Emmet Walsh, Billy Green Bush and Scott Grimes. It was directed by Stephen Herek and written by Herek, Domonic Muir (story) and Don Keith Opper (additional scenes). It is the first film in the Critters series. Although widely believed to have been inspired by the success of Joe Dante's 1984 film Gremlins, Herek has refuted this in interviews, pointing out that the script was written by Muir long before Gremlins went into production and subsequently underwent rewrites to reduce the apparent similarities between the two films. Plot The film begins on a prison asteroid in outer space. A group of unseen creatures known as Crites are set to be transported to another station. When the seemingly intelligent creatures cause an explosion that kills two guards and injures three, hijack a ship away from the station, and escape, the leader of the station hires two transforming bounty hunters to hunt the "Critters" down. Meanwhile, on Earth, we are introduced to the Brown family, living in a rural Kansas town: the father, Jay; the mother, Helen; the teenage daughter, April; and the trouble-making son, Brad. Brad often hangs out with dopey mechanic, Charlie McFadden. When he and Brad are outside, Charlie accidentally hits Brad's sister with a slingshot pellet, and Brad, not wanting his friend to get into trouble, passes the blame on himself. He is grounded, but sneaks out onto the roof. While on the roof Brad sees what appears to be a comet streaking the sky, falling somewhere in the distance. The comet, which in actuality is the Crite's ship, lands, causing the ground to shake and alarming Jay and his wife. Walking outside to investigate, Jay discovers Brad in a tree, who says he was thrown clear out of his window by the earthquake. Jay, obviously not believing this, takes his son along with him to find the comet. At the landing site, the Critters survey the damage, and set out for food. Devouring the majority of a steer, the Crites are interrupted upon Jay and Brad's discovery of the cattle's carcass. Then the Crites attack and eat a police officer. Shortly afterward, the Critters make their way toward the farm and manage to cut the power. Jay, Helen and Brad go to the circuit breaker where Jay is attacked by one of the Critters. Then out in the barn, April is making out and trying to engage in sexual intercourse with her boyfriend Steve when one of the Critters attacks them and kills Steve. Brad saves her by feeding a lit stick of dynamite to the Critter, killing it. The family manages to evade the Critters and get into the house. Meanwhile the two bounty hunters, having already landed on Earth, travel from pillar to post in the town looking for the Critters. When Brad goes for help, he manages to bring the bounty hunters to his home. The Critters return to their ship when the bounty hunters arrive, with their large leader having kidnapped April, Charlie then lights a homemade bomb with a molotov cocktail created from the whiskey he is always carrying and saves her. The Critters lift off, and blast the Brown's house into pieces. Their ship explodes, supposedly killing all the Critters. The bounty hunters leave in their ship after giving Brad a strange, remote-like device. The Brown's house is repaired in less than a minute, with a push of a button on the remote control. At the very end, the camera zooms into the barn, where Critter eggs can be seen. Cast *Dee Wallace Stone as Helen Brown *M. Emmet Walsh as Harv *Billy Green Bush as Jay Brown *Scott Grimes as Brad Brown *Nadine Van der Velde as April Brown *Don Keith Opper as Charlie McFadden *Billy Zane as Steve Elliot *Ethan Phillips as Jeff Barnes *Terrence Mann as Ug/Johnny Steele *Jeremy Lawrence as Reverend Miller/Preacher *Lin Shaye as Sally *Corey Burton as the voice of the Crites/Critters *Adele Malis-Morey as Woman #1 *Patrick McAreavy as Dr. Critter Release The film was released theatrically in the United States by New Line Cinema in April 1986. It turned out to be a modest hit for the company, grossing $13,167,232 at the box office. The film was released on VHS and laserdisc by RCA/Columbia Pictures Home Video the same year. In September 1997, New Line Home Video re-released the film on VHS. In 2003, New Line Home Entertainment released the film on DVD. The film was re-released in a set containing all 4 Critters films on DVD by Warner Bros. in 2010. In December 2011. It was announced a retrospective, never before seen documentary for the first film is currently in pre-production. The documentary will explore the origins of "Critters" as well as cast & crew interviews and more. Reception According to Rotten Tomatoes, 57% of reviewers gave the film a positive review. Taglines *The original tasty entree! *When you've got Critters... you need all the help you can get. *They bite! *The battle began in another galaxy. It's about to end in the Brown's backyard. *They eat so fast, you don't have time to scream. DVD editions *R1 USA (New Line) *R2 UK (Entertainment In Video) Trivia *Body count: a cow, 2 humans and several chickens. *Terrence Mann performs the song "Power of the Night" as Johnny Steele especially for this movie. *There are a total of five (5) poison spikes shot from the Critters. *There are only 2 deaths on-screen, all other characters are simply just 'harmed'. *Promoted as New Line's answer to Gremlins. Gallery MV5BMTU5MDUwMDA3OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDY2MjAwMQ@@._V1_SY317_CR4,0,214,317_.jpg|DVD for Critters critters1df4.jpg|VHS for Critters tumblr_lv0133Wk6r1r0xz35.jpg|Fan-made poster Critters_quad-1.jpg|Critters wallpaper Critters-Critter-puppet-1.jpg|Original Critter prop from the movie critters-movie-title.jpg|Opening title critters.JPG zbj7py0dwn.jpg Critters-Critter-1ff.jpg|Critter replica External links * * * * Category:Films Category:1980s Category:1986 films Category:New Line cinema Category:Directorial debut films